1. There are 3,753 people in prison custody in Ireland (01 August 2017)

2. The rate of imprisonment in Ireland is approximately 75 per 100,000 of population (August 2017).

3. The prison population increased by 400% from 1970 to 2011.

4. In 2016, the average cost of an “available, staffed prison space” was €69,421, not including education expenditure.

5. In 2016 there were 10,996 prisoners committed serving sentences of less than 12 months. This represented 90.4% of all committals to prison under sentence in 2016.

6. The majority of Irish prisoners have never sat a State exam and over half left school before the age of 15.

7. Four in ten children (under 16 years) on custodial remand have a learning disability. (Anderson & Graham 2007)

8. From 1996 to 2016, the numbers in custody increased by almost 70% (2,191 to 3,718).

9. There are 60 people in prison slopping out, without in-cell sanitation.

10. In 2016, there were 8,439 committals to prison for the non-payment of court ordered fines, a decrease from 9,883 in 2015.

11. Committals under immigration increased to 421 in 2016 from 342 in 2015.

12.In 2016 the number of committals to prison of children aged under 18 was 39; of these, 1 was 16 years old.

13. The number of sentenced committals for road traffic offences decreased from 4,756 in 2015 to 3,791 in 2016.

14. The average number of females in custody was 140 in 2016, a 6.9% increase on the 2015 average of 131.

15. In 2013, the annual cost per child in child detention schools was €314,000.

16. Dóchas women’s prison is operating at 115% of its recommended maximum capacity. (01 August 2017)

17. Prisoners in Ireland are 25 times more likely to come from (and return to) a seriously deprived area.

18. The number of prisoners on restricted regimes in July 2017 decreased by 15 persons, compared to April 2017. Figures show that there has been a decrease from 430 (April 2017) to 415 (July 2017), a decrease of 3%.

19. The average daily number of prisoners in custody rose by over 16% in the ten year period between 2006 (3,191) to 2016 (3,718).

20. 85% of fine defaulters are back in custody within four years.

21. The the daily average number of female offenders in custody rose by 29% in the ten year period between 2006 and 2016.

22. In July 2017, 22. 1,568 (42%) prisoners were required to use the toilet in the presence of another prisoner. This is a decrease in overall numbers from 2014, but an increase in % terms as this figure stood at 1,610 (40%) prisoners July 2014.

23. Committals under sentence of less than 3 months decreased by 13.8% (from 10,229 in 2015 to 8,820 in 2016).

24. On November 30th 2016, 635 (17%) prisoners were on remand.

25. In 2008, of 520 prisoners who enrolled in school at Mountjoy Prison, 20% could not read or write and 30% could only sign their names.

26. As of July 2017, 2,031 (55%) prisoners were accommodated in single cells. This is an increase on July 2014 figures of 1,978 (49%) prisoners.

27. As of July 2017, 415 prisoners in total were subject to a restricted regime. 384 were restricted on grounds of order (Rule 63), of which 368 were there of their own request. 16 prisoners had been restricted on grounds of order (Rule 62).

28. As of August 2017, there were 406 sentenced prisoners (14% of sentenced prison population) aged 50+. As of August 2014, there were only 347 sentenced prisoners aged 50+ (10.8% of sentenced prison population).

29. Over a quarter (26.7%) of all persons committed to prison in 2016 declared Dublin as their country of residence.

30. Numbers committed on a life sentence decreased from 19 in 2015 to 15 in 2016.

31. According to the July 2017 census of restricted regimes, there are 10 prisoners being held on 22+ lock-up. This is a decrease of 34 (77%) on April 2017, and a 201 (95%) decrease since the commencement of the survey in July 2013.

32. In 2011, over 70% of prisoners were unemployed on committal and a similar percentage self-report as not having any particular trade or occupation.

Welcome to Irish Penal Reform Trust

Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) is Ireland's leading non
governmental organisation campaigning for rights in the penal system and
the progressive reform of Irish penal policy.

Smart Justice is guided by analysis of evidence, data and statistics, and does not engage in knee-jerk policy responses. Progress and reforms achieved since 2011 means that there is now a strong foundation on which to work towards a model penal system in Ireland – one that is led by innovation and not crisis-management. A clear Government commitment to evidence-informed policy, grounded in data and evidence which is made available to the public, is key.

Actions needed:

Government commitment to a coherent and evidence-informed penal policy

Develop research capacity within the Department of Justice and relevant agencies to support innovative best practice and evidence-based initiatives

Smart Justice recognises that prison is not the only real form of punishment. Cheaper non-custodial sanctions are proven to be more effective in addressing less serious offending, and the community benefits from the work carried out. Over-dependence on imprisonment for less serious offences also places disproportionate burden on a prison service that should instead focus its resources on more serious offenders.

Actions needed:

Government commitment to resourcing of robust non-custodial responses to offending

Establishment of community courts

Investment in restorative justice strategies

Roll out of supported community sanction schemes nationwide

Ensure consistency in availability, use and operation of community sanctions nationwide

Smart Justice does not put children in prison. The Government commitment in 2011 to end the detention of children at St. Patrick’s Institution has been delivered. However, the detention of children continues in Wheatfield Place of Detention, an adult prison, in direct violation of international human rights law. This must be addressed urgently – and with finality.

Actions needed:

Remove all children from the adult prison system in Ireland, with urgency

Take measures to ensure that no child is ever detained for welfare reasons

Resource age-appropriate bail programmes and effective bail supports

Ensure that the use of single separation for children in detention is used sparingly, and for minimum period of time

Prioritise investment in prevention and early intervention strategies to reduce number of children coming in contact with the law

Smart Justice looks to the future. Young people in the transition to adulthood have the highest rates of offending and reoffending, but the highest capacity for change and desistance from offending behaviour. It is crucial that the wrong interventions do not condemn young adults to a lifetime of marginalisation and crime.

Actions needed:

Commit to the development by the Department of Justice of a discrete strategy for young adults aged 18–24 years in conflict with the law

Ensure that Goal 5 of the National Policy Framework for Children & Young People 2014–2020, “Support Effective Transitions” is properly resourced and fully implemented

Smart Justice recognises that crowded prisons are dangerous for prisoners and staff alike, and do little to reduce reoffending. Overcrowding in prisons leads to increase violence, prevalence of drugs, and poorer outcomes. The prison population has been safely reduced by 10% since a peak in chronic overcrowding in 2011. This trend must be continued over the next five years, so that the Irish Prison Service can direct maximum resources towards addressing serious offending behaviour.

Actions needed:

Reduce the prison population to a safe custody maximum of 2,850

Expand the highly successful Community Return Programme, and ensure no prisoner is deemed ineligible due to the category of their offence

Increase standard remission from 25% to 33% and enhanced remission of up to 50%

Smart Justice makes sure that prison does not cultivate more serious problems for the future. Imprisonment by its nature exacerbates mental and physical health issues, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has found that the health-care service in some Irish prisons is in “a state of crisis”. Failure to deal appropriately with mental health and addictions makes prisons unsafe for staff and prisoners alike. An effective prison healthcare service, which is capable of meeting the wide range of physical and mental health needs in prison, is urgently required.

Actions needed:

Conduct a whole-system review of prison health services

Ensure that prisoners with serious mental health issues are diverted to more appropriate therapeutic facilities

Increase the number of forensic mental health spaces

Adopt measures to reduce the demand for drugs in prison

Ensure that all prisoners who wish to address their addictions have access to drugs treatment services

Ensure monitoring of infectious diseases including HIV, HCV and TB is included in regular prison health monitoring and inspection mechanisms

Smart Justice knows that inhumane prison conditions do not support rehabilitation or desistance from offending. Despite marked improvements since 2011, conditions and regimes in some prisons remain in clear violation of basic human rights standards, exposing Ireland to legal challenge at domestic and European level.

Actions needed:

Commit to single-cell accommodation as the best-practice norm across the prison estate

Ensure that all prisoners have 24-hour access to private toilet facilities

Commit to a daily minimum of 12 hours out-of-cell activity for all prisoners, with emphasis on education, training and work

End the use of prolonged isolation of prisoners as a response to prisoner safety concerns

Smart Justice is fully accountable to the general public. Public confidence in the effectiveness of the prison system demands transparency and accountability. Independent oversight is crucial to ensuring human rights abuses do not occur out of sight behind prison walls, and the safety of prisoners and staff is strengthened through trusted complaints mechanisms, which reduce tension on prison landings.

Actions needed:

Establish a prisoner ombudsman or extend the remit of the general Ombudsman to include complaints from prisoners

Meet Ireland’s commitment to ratify the OP-CAT (Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture)

Establish the Irish Prison Service as a fully independent Prisons Authority on a statutory basis, with the Director General as Accounting Officer

Smart Justice ensures that time spent in prison is useful. From the first day of a prisoner’s sentence, he or she should be working with the prison service towards their preparation for release. More transparent and accountable structures of release decision-making will bolster prisoners’ confidence in their engagement with prison services, treatments and regimes. Facilitating family and prisoner relationships plays a key role in reducing recidivism, and helps break inter-generational cycles of crime and imprisonment.

Actions needed:

Commit to a Government-led inter-departmental and inter-agency strategy for supporting children with a parent in prison

Implement and resource the Irish Prison Service ‘Families and Imprisonment’ strategy

Provide an open prison for female prisoners and increase open prison provision for male prisoners

Introduce a fully independent Parole Board on a statutory basis

Remove exclusions from temporary release for all categories of prisoner

Smart Justice knows that for every prisoner who does not reoffend on release from prison, there is one fewer victim in the community. It is in everybody’s interest that rehabilitation services and supports are prioritised and adequately resourced. Inter-agency co-operation between prisons, probation, health, mental health, housing and and social welfare services is key to the safe and successful reintegration of people back into the community.

Actions needed:

Impose a statutory obligation on relevant state agencies to co-operate around prisoner release

Commit to adequate resourcing of reintegration service and supports proven to be effective

Ensure that the Probation Service is adequately resourced to meet its expanding remit of assessment and supervision in the community

Extend expungement provisions in Children Act 2001 to offences committed up to age 21